Golf-club shaft



T. W. BRYANT GOLF CLUB SHAFT March 10, 1931.

Original Filed July 1, 1925 INVENTOR ORNEY Patented Mar. 10, 1931 PATENTOFFICE THOMAS W. BRYANT, OF TORRINGTON, CONNECTICUT GOLF-CLUB SHAFTApplication filed July 1 1925, S eria1 No. 40,767. Renewed .Tune 24,1927.

, My invention relates particularly to shafts for golf clubs. One objectis, to provide a light but very strong and durable construc tion havingdesired uniform characteristics asto stiffness and flexibility.

Another obj ectisto provide a construction of this character which canbe made and finjshed at a reasonable. cost and yet which is neat andattractive and which is not subject 19 to: rapid deterioration.

7 Another object is to provide a construction which can be used forvarious kinds of clubs and which may have any suitable form of handle. a

' In carrying out my invention I provide a tubular metallic core and appy to it fibrous material which is coated or impregnated with 'siccativesubstance. The finished shaft may be used like any other shaftl- Fig. 1is a side view .of a golf club embodying one form of theimprovements ofmy invention. l

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view. on the plane o'f tlie line @'2 of1, but on a much enlarged scale.

Fig.3 is a side view of the core memberof the shaft. i Fig. 4 showsashaft in process of formationf" r p r 39 The core 5 is preferably ofvery thin steel and may be'rolledor otherwise formed from strip" stockand then hardened. "The" thick? ness of theistock will" depend upon thecharacteristics' of the material available and'the' require d weight andstrength of the shaft. A carbon steel may be'employed of from say tento' fifteen thousandths of an inch in thick ness. i Y

This core is preferably covered with one or more layers of material suchas strips ofvpaper 6 and 7 which may be wound helically' as shown inFigure 4. These-strips may be very thin and should be applied tightly soas to provide a maximum re-enforcing strength.

Preferably the material is-somewhat absorb- "These strips maybe coatedor impregnated with a waterproof compound 8, which will be hard whendried or baked. I A suitable com- 5 pound is carbaloid, or'otherplastics such as core has been wound.

phenolic condensation products and the like. This material may beapplied to the individual strips at the time of winding or the shaft maybe coated with the compound after the This may be dried and hardened inany suitable manner. There should be some of the compound between thecore 5 and the strips 6 and 7 so that the strips will adhere strongly tothe steel. lVhenthe compound is entirely dry and hard it may besand-papered, finished, or turned in a lathe if desired. The impregnatedand hardened covering substantially re-enforces the metal tube so thatthe finished articlehas the necessary resistance against crushingstrains, against bending, and against twisting. This also ensures apermanent protection to the shaft which is not possible with ordinarypainted or varnished shafts or shafts which have been coated with copperor similar substances which do not themselves constitute any substantialre-enforcement and which quickly wear through unless made so thick thatthe weight and cost is prohibitive. Furthermore, varnish applieddirectly to a metal I core'will crack and peel due to the necessarytwisting and bending of the shaft when ,in ordinary use. Y j

In the drawing I have illustrated a head 9 intended to typify anysuitable golf club head applied on the smaller end of the shaft, and ahandle '10 of any suitable form applied directly on the other end. Theparticular head shown has a hozel or socket ll-to receive the end of theshaft. In constructions of this character it is custcmary'to. employ atransverse pin 12 and to crimp the outer end of a hozel into thematerial of the wood shaft. This crimping is of course impractical withan ordinary steel shaft; but is entirely feasible where the shaft has afabric or fibrous covering according to my invention. The presentinvention also makes it entirely practical to apply several additionallayers of the fabric so as to thicken the coating as at 13 and give itthe necessary size and taper to fit a standard hozel, in fact, the headend of the shaft may be made somewhat larger inv diameter than the restof the shaft and sandpapered or turned down to fit any desired clubhead. It may also be desirable to extend the enlargement backward as at14 and taper it off gradually into the small part of the shaft somelittle. distance fro-m the head so as to furnish a re-enforcementimmediately adjacent the end of the hozel where the greatest strainoccurs. I may also provide an interior plug member 15,'for instance ofwood, within the small end of the shaft. This plug reintomake the coreof the shaft of a strip mate= forces the shaft at that part throughwhich the anchorage pin 12 passes, and also at the point adjacent theend of the socket or hozel 11. V The plug beingof softer or more yielding material than the shaft can be made to fit the shaft withoutstraining the, material of the'shaft. The upper'end of this plug may betapered OK or pointed so as to permit a maximum bending of the tube{without severely'strfessing the very thin wall of the tube. 1 I

' By the u'se'of my invention, it possible in a uniform manner so thatthe finished 6 golf club shaft is'subjected. n ""lclaimz" 1. A golfclu-bshaft formed of thin' sheet product'can be made according to' definitestandards. .As a result there will be very little', if any, variation inweight, stiffness or strength in shafts made according to my invention.It is thus possiblejto make a' shaft not only very light in weight'butvery strong the 'peculia'r stresses and strains to whichfa metalexternally reinforced throughout its length by a fibrous coating, havingan excess thickness at one end' to adapt the same to be turneddown tofit the socket of a head.

' 2. A. shaft forgolf clubs and the like em- V bodying a hollow"resilient metal core and a tubular outer casing formed of fabr'ic impregnated with a condensation-product hardened and tightly embracing andadhering to V the core for movement therewith under strain.

7 '3; A golf club having a head with atubular shaftstepped in the headand'reinforced internally by aplug within that part'of the shaft whichis within the head and reinforced externallybyan outer protectivecovering in eluding" c'arbaloid or similar condensation product hardenedand tightly embracing the the shaft and adhering thereto for movementtherewithun'der strain.

4. "A resilient somewhat torsionable golf nut shaft formed of a, taperedmetallic tubulari core having a thin -wall and a 55.

tapered tubular protecting and reinforcing top of the socket.

outer casing of non-metallic, hard and flexible material of a lengthco-extensive with the length of the main core of the shaft, said casingbeing formed on the core and hardened in place and permanently adhering,to the core for movement therewith under strain.

5. A'shaft for golf clubs embodylng a resilient core and a flexibletubular outer protective casing including a condensation prodnot 7hardened and tightly embracing and adhering to the core for movementtherewith under strain and extending for at least the full length of thepart of the core between the head and gripof the club. H p

6. A golf club having a head with a socket and a tubular .shaft'receivedtherein j and a reinforcing plug tightly fitting within that part of theshaft which is within the socket and having a tapered end projectinginto the shaft just beyond'the outer end of the socket.

7. A golf club comprising a head having a socket, a tapered tubularresilient'shaft having a handle portion at its upper large end and beingtapered to its smallest diameter at the neck a short distance abovethesocket, said shaft increasing in diameterv from the neck to the end ofthe socket and having its flexible waterproof material comprising a I Vhardened plastic material adapted to. withand durable and capable ofwlthstandlngall stand fi'exure and torsion of play when used the shaft.

' 9. A flexible netal'golfclub shaft-ha ing a "flexible waterproofreinforcingcover comprising a hardened plastic material under tension,binding said shaft tightly enough to be moved therewith underdistortion, extending shaft length, and of'sufiicient, toughness toprevent cranking andibreaking off in use.

" 10. The combination with :a hollow metal shaft, of a golfclub headhaving a socket in which said shaft'is received; and a plug memberfitted inside the received end of said shaft, said plugmemberbeingtapered up: wardly adjacent the open end or upper end ofthesocket'. I 7 11. The combination with a hollow metal shaft, of agolf'clubhead having a socket in which said shaft is received, a plugmember of'softer material than saidmetal shaft Within said shaft' landsocket, said plug being tapered beyond said socket and fitted toreinforce the shaft againstfiexure, acent the 12. A golf club providedwith as aw;-

lar shaft 'lciavinga thin wear and corrosion over at least the'majorportion of the resisting protective coating comprising strips ofmaterial impregnated with a condensation product and hardened saidcoating being applied under tension to adhere to said shaft under strainWhen hardened and tough enough not to crack off under normal flexure andtorsion thereof.

13. A golf club shaft comprising a tapered split tube of thin sheetmetal held together and entirely enclosed by a number of strips of thinmaterial Wound thereon throughout the greater part of its length andcoated With a Wear resisting waterproof compound.

' THOMAS W. BRYANT.

